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About this blog: I am a native of Alameda County, grew up in Pleasanton and currently live in the house I grew up in that is more than 100 years old. I spent 39 years in the daily newspaper business and wrote a column for more than 25 years in add... (More)

About this blog: I am a native of Alameda County, grew up in Pleasanton and currently live in the house I grew up in that is more than 100 years old. I spent 39 years in the daily newspaper business and wrote a column for more than 25 years in addition to writing editorials for more than 15 years. I have served as a director of many non-profits in the Valley and the broader Bay Area and currently serve as chair of Teen Esteem and on the advisory board of Shepherd?s Gate. I also served as founding chair of Heart for Africa and have travelled to Africa seven times to serve on mission trips. My wife, Betty Gail, has taught at Amador Valley High (from where we both graduated) since 1981. She and I both graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, as did both of my parents and my three siblings. Given that Cal tradition, our daughter went south to the University of Southern California and graduated with a degree in international relations. Since graduation, she has taken three mission trips and will be serving in the Philippines for nine months starting in September. (Hide)

John Edmands: the classic small town newspaper publisher

Uploaded: Apr 11, 2017

Many people living in Pleasanton today have no clue who John Edmands was and what role he played in shaping the community they live in today.
John edited and published the Pleasanton Times for 30 years before selling it to Dean Lesher, publisher of the Contra Costa Times. The succeeding newspaper became the Valley Times that competed aggressively with the Tri-Valley Herald owned by Floyd Sparks. I worked for Floyd until he sold his newspapers in 1985. That was a few years after John had retired from the Times. Lesher had bought a major interest in the paper in the 1970s.
I received word yesterday that John’s long life had come to an end in England. He died at 93 after a short illness. Thanks to Molly Walker of Oakland, his daughter, for the information.
When John and two partners bought the Times in 1952 Pleasanton was a tiny little farm town. What’s now the Bernal park was land leased to Jackson and Perkins to grow their famous rose bushes. Diaries occupied what is now Del Prado and the area between Hopyard and Santa Rita.
The “rad lab” had just opened in Livermore in 1950 and the first of the tract housing—Jensen tract—was taking shape across from Amador Valley High. My family arrived in town in 1958 when there were about 3,000 residents.
John was the classic small-town editor and publisher. He met with the mayor and other community leaders to talk about what they wanted Pleasanton to grow into. A few years ago, when I was working on the memorial service booklet for the late Rev. Robert Stuart Vogt, I remember a picture of Bob and John having coffee with the city manager in what I think was Dean’s Café.

Publishers in that day were actively engaged in their community, striving to make the local economy better, to improve the community and to see it grow. Their business would grow with it. That was certainly the case for John.
As Molly wrote, “He was a sought-after speaker and a tireless champion of his adopted community of Pleasanton, actively supporting local school bonds and other civic causes.”
He served on the city’s General Plan Committee that laid the foundation for the Pleasanton we enjoy today.
A native of Canada, he become a naturalized American citizen after moving to the United States. His first wife, Eugenia O’Shea Walker, was his business partner and together they raised four children. She died in 1981.
In 1982, he married Joyce Taylor and then lived in Pleasanton and Florida before relocating to Marbella, Spain and communities in England. What a great long life—a 30-plus year newspaper career and then 35 years of travel and enjoying life in retirement.

Posted by Iba,
a resident of Walnut Creek,
on Sep 12, 2017 at 1:46 amIba is a registered user.

This eulogy gave great description of John. He reminded me my old boss. I've started my career as a newspaper worker too, so I understand how hard and exhausting it can be. Working today at Web Link isn't way easier, but my experience at the local newspaper gave me nice base. Ah, now I'm nostalgic about that times...